A fresh coastal Italian contender emerges this week inside of Downtown Los Angeles’s Hotel Figueroa. Florence by the Water opens on February 13 to coincide the hotel’s 100th anniversary, from the same operator who debuted L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele in Hollywood and Long Beach, and Florence Osteria & Piano Bar on Beverly Boulevard. This time, the Tuscan menu is an extension of the latter with dining that overlooks an outdoor pool.
Former Pizzeria il Fico chef and Puglia-born Giuseppe Gentile helms the kitchen. Gentile’s dishes lean coastal Italian with nods to other regional cuisines: starters like wagyu souvlaki and whipped ricotta make the menu, while antipasti include whole Argentine prawns and grilled calamari. Diners will also find pastas such as fusilli all’Amatriciana, pizzas flying from a wood-fired oven, and mains that include a whole branzino with Meyer lemon herb relish and chicken Milanese. The Hotel Figueroa’s previous poolside restaurant, the east Mediterranean-leaning Deme, closed in 2025.
Starting Friday, February 13, Florence by the Water will be open Tuesday to Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and until midnight on Friday and Saturday at 939 S. Figueroa Street, Downtown Los Angeles, CA, 90015. Reservations can be found on OpenTable.
Highland Park’s Joy headed to Santa Monica
Super Peach reviewed by the New York Times
The New York Times’ chief restaurant critic, Tejal Rao, reviewed chef David Chang’s Super Peach. Rao calls the Century City mall a “monument to the global matrix of American appetites”; after multiple visits to its new seafoam-green restaurant, she suggests that Momofuku has entered its “gentle dad era.” Read the whole review for more.
A massive post-Super Bowl turnout at Villa’s Tacos
Massive lines have formed at Villa’s Tacos after its owner, Victor Villa, made a notable appearance on Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show. Check Villas’ Instagram below.
Delivery robots are organizing
On the Los Angeles subreddit, a user spotted delivery robots in a spooky manner.
West Adams’ Maydan Market announced a new chef residency this week. Chef Tiana Gee, owner of Soulphil, will serve her Filipino Soul fusion menu through the remainder of February for Black History Month. It’s the sixth residency at Club 104, where guests can experience emerging chefs and creatives for a limited time. A Black and Filipina Los Angeles native, Gee has a popular YouTube channel called Cookin’ with Tee and has appeared on the Food Network.